The year 2023 has been a rough road for many EV startups with several companies struggling to overcome challenges related to lingering supply chain issues, softening demand and rapidly shrinking cash reserves. Fisker Inc is the latest company to cut its production forecast as the company struggles to reign in expenses.
Missed Goals For Fisker, Is It A Sign Of Things To Come?
Fisker’s latest cut to its production forecast is a swift departure from the company’s prior statements which claimed that the company was on track to reach a production target of 42,400 cars. That figure has now been cut to between 32,000 and 36,000 units for 2023 as the company put the blame on supply chain woes and an updated timing for homologation (the process to make a vehicle roadworthy). In addition to cutting production, the company also posted an adjusted loss of 32-cents per share which was higher than the 30-cent loss that Wall Street was expecting. Those two factors helped push share prices down 12% in pre-market trading.
Fisker’s struggles also paint a rocky picture for the broader startup market as a whole with fellow EV startup Lucid also reporting cuts in its production targets and weak earnings which helped send its stock price down 10%. The startups are not only facing strong headwinds from post COVID-19 supply woes and high interest rates. But also shifting tides in the EV market itself with Tesla not only cutting prices of its own EVs to stoke demand, but also more legacy automakers entering the market with EV models that benefit from more engineering money and a stronger flow of cash to help offset some of the costs of developing them.
There’s Still Light At The End of The Tunnel
But amid these challenges, there are still some welcome glimmers of progress that the EV startups have managed to achieve in recent years. Lucid for example is preparing to begin development of the Gravity SUV while Fisker also revealed that it not only delivered its first Ocean SUV to Denmark, but that it also completed its first vehicle registration in Germany. These are all key milestones and show how committed these firms are towards satisfying the needs of their customers.
However, it will be interesting to see how things play out especially as more EV startups are forced to contend with a shrinking pool of funding and ongoing inflation.
Carl Malek has been an automotive journalist for over 10 years. First starting out as a freelance photographer before making the transition to writing during college, his work has appeared on numerous automotive forums as well as websites such as Autoshopper.com.
Carl is also a big fan of British vehicles with the bulk of his devotion going to the Morgan Motor Company as well as offerings from Lotus, MG, and Caterham. When he is not writing about automobiles, Carl enjoys spending time with his family and friends in the Metro Detroit area, as well as spending time with his adorable pets.